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LOOMIS, SAYLES & COMPANY

Growth Equity Strategies

“We are long-term patient investors. We strategically allocate capital to
select high-quality businesses with sustainable growth, only when they
trade at a significant discount to our estimate of intrinsic value.”

Aziz V. Hamzaogullari, CFA

Founder, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager

GES GROWTH FUND EARNS THE GOLD MORNINGSTAR MEDALIST RATING

The Loomis Sayles Growth Fund is honored to receive the Gold Medalist Rating from Morningstar.*

As of 29 December 2023.

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$69.5B

In Assets Under Management

As of 12/31/2023

152

Combined Years of Investment Experience

As of 6/30/2023

1

Investment Philosophy

Supported by a seven-step research framework

GES-Inv-Philosophy-1
Our Investment Philosophy

We are an active manager with a long-term, private equity approach to investing. Through our proprietary bottom-up research framework, we look to invest in those few high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and profitable growth when they trade at a significant discount to our estimate of intrinsic value.

GROWTH EQUITY STRATEGIES

Alpha Thesis

We believe a focus on the quality of a manager's investment philosophy, process, and decision-making is essential for assessing the probability of future success. Our alpha thesis encapsulates a deeply held system of persistent beliefs, a rigorous, repeatable investment process and substantive proof points.

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Selective Investing

Our Quality-Growth-Valuation investment process begins with the art of trying to identify high-quality companies—those with unique, difficult-to-replicate business models and sustainable competitive advantages.

Bottom-Up Research

Our proprietary seven-step research framework represents our long-standing insights about investing and is structured around three key criteria: Quality, Growth, and Valuation.

Private Equity Approach 

Because we approach investing as if we are buying into a private business, a long investment horizon is central to our philosophy.

Active Risk Management

Because we define risk as a permanent loss of capital, we take an absolute-return approach to investing and seek to actively manage our downside risk.

Long-Term Investor

In our view, a long investment horizon affords us the opportunity to capture value from secular growth opportunities as well as capitalize on the stock market’s shortsightedness through a process called time arbitrage.

THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR INVESTMENT
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Seven-Step Research Framework

Through the disciplined and thorough implementation of bottom-up fundamental analysis, we seek to understand the drivers, opportunities and limits of each business. Click through to explore our research framework, outlined step-by-step.

High-quality businesses are rare. We believe less than one percent of all businesses are able to sustain their competitive advantages beyond a decade. We also believe less than one percent of businesses can generate durable and profitable long-term growth. Demanding these two characteristics means we must be very selective and patient investors.

- Aziz V. Hamzaogullari

Step 1

QUALITY

The Sustainable Competitive Advantage

 

We seek to identify unique elements and defensibility of a company's business model and sources and sustainability of a company's competitive advantage.

 

Step 2

QUALITY

Competitive Analysis

We assess barriers to entry, industry rivalry, power of buyers vs. suppliers and substitution threats. We evaluate the entire value chain and profit pool to discern the structural winners and losers in the long term.

 

Step 3

QUALITY

Financial Analysis

We are seeking self-sufficient business models, with strong and sustainable cash flow generation capability as well as a proven and forecasted ability to generate returns above the cost of capital.

 

Step 4

QUALITY

Management

Our goal is to partner with management teams oriented to creating shareholder value, who share our long-term perspective, who have demonstrated the ability to allocate capital effectively, and who manage the business with vision and integrity.

 

Step 5

GROWTH

Growth Drivers

Our growth estimate is developed independent of company guidance or Street expectations. To assess the sustainability of the company’s growth rate, we evaluate the drivers of that growth. We focus on long-term secular and structural growth opportunities - dynamics that aren’t likely to change for five years or longer.

 

 

Step 6

VALUATION

Intrinsic Value Ranges

We believe that the present value of future cash flows is a superior measure of economic performance and is our core methodology for measuring a company's intrinsic value. We establish our best, base, bear and worst case valuation scenarios. These valuation ranges guide the timing of both our buy and sell decisions.

 

 

Step 7

VALUATION

Expectations Analysis

We perform this analysis to assess the valuation assumptions implied by the current stock price. It is important to differentiate fundamentals drivers of value from market sentiment. The objective is to understand where and how our perspective diverges from that of the market. We are looking for investment opportunities where our perspective and assumptions differ significantly from the consensus.

 

Growth Equity Strategies Platform

Explore the Team's
Product Offerings

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Enduring Insights

A Fundamental and Long-Term Approach to ESG

Understanding how an investment philosophy informs an investment manager’s decision making process can provide meaningful insights into how and why the manager approaches environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria.

READ THE PAPER

Our Alpha Thesis

We believe a focus on the quality of a manager's investment philosophy, process, and decision-making is essential for assessing the probability of future success. Our alpha thesis encapsulates a deeply held system of persistent beliefs, a rigorous, repeatable investment process and substantive proof points.

READ THE PAPER

WATCH THE VIDEO

Understanding Our Large Cap Growth Strategy 

Video overview with Aziz Hamzaogullari

WATCH THE VIDEO

Bottoms Up! Finding the Advantage in the Global Beer Value Chain

The qualities that make a business great are universal in nature. How does the Growth Equity Strategies team identify and capture value? Watch to learn more.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Aziz Hamzaogullari Market Update March 2020

Aziz Hamzaogullari and Joe Ferrara, Investment Strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, discuss recent market turbulence and the risks and opportunities present in near-term market conditions.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Covid-19 Commentary

Large Cap Growth

READ THE COMMENTARY

All Cap Growth

READ THE COMMENTARY

Global Growth

READ THE COMMENTARY

2022 - Q2 2023 Performance Overview

Large Cap Growth

READ THE OVERVIEW

2021 Performance Overview

Large Cap Growth

READ THE OVERVIEW

All Cap Growth

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2020 Performance Overview

Large Cap Growth

READ THE OVERVIEW

All Cap Growth

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Articles & Accolades

Archived since 2013

Wall Street Journal
The Best Stock-Fund Managers for the Past Year – and How They Did It
October 2023

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Morningstar
This Year’s Top-Performing Growth Funds
Can’t Erase Longer-Term Losses
April 2023

READ MORE

Morningstar
Loomis Sayles Growth: A Strategy with
Competitive Advantages of Its Own

January 2023

READ MORE

 

Morningstar
The Best High-Quality Stock Funds

October 2022

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Square Mile Research
Talking With Aziz Hamzaogullari
July 2020

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Investor's Business Daily
Why This Top Stock Mutual Fund
Went Shopping in the Bargain Bin
April 2020

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Morningstar
10 Superb Defensive Stock Funds

September 2019

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Investor's Business Daily
Loomis Sayles Growth Fund Tops
Market
Repeatedly, Here's Its Keys
May 2019

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Morningstar
Why Investors Should
Rethink Risk (Video)

May 2018

WATCH THE VIDEO

 

Citywire
Loomis Sayles Equity Star Reveals
Childhood Trick to His Success
January 2017

READ MORE

Barron's
Today's Top 5 Stock Picks:
Dominant Franchises
June 2016

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Financial Advisor
A Believer In Megacap
Growth Stocks

May 2016

READ MORE

 

Investor's Business Daily
Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook: A Top
Mutual Fund's Bets
December 2015

READ MORE

Barron's
Valuing Growth
August 2013

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Plansponsor
Powers of Concentration
September 2013

READ MORE

 

 

Awards

Red Morningstar Logo and Morningstar Gold Analyst Rating Emblem
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IBD 2020 Award logo
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Meet the Team

Learn About the Growth Equity Strategies Team Members

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Disclosure

*© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

Past performance is no guarantee of, and not necessarily indicative of, future results. 

Any opinions or forecasts contained herein reflect the current subjective judgments and assumptions of the Growth Equity Strategies Team only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. This information is subject to change at any time without notice.

Commodity, interest and derivative trading involves substantial risk of loss.

Any investment that has the possibility for profits also has the possibility of losses, including the loss of principal.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.

Market conditions are extremely fluid and change frequently.

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